1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to data communication and devices, and relates more particularly to selection of a member or members for data flow in a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
As networking continues to evolve, new features are developed to improve performance, efficiency, or both. Included in these new features are concepts related to link aggregation. Link aggregation encompasses various methods of combining or grouping (i.e., aggregating) multiple network connections to increase data throughput while still supporting fault tolerance in case of failures.
Link aggregation can involve grouping two or more physical data network links between network devices into one logical link in which the two or more physical network links may be treated as a single logical link. This logical link forms a link aggregation group or LAG.
Another instance in which the route of traffic flow is considered from among a group of links or members is during routing. At times, there may be multiple paths of equal cost through which data may be routed to the next hop. In such instances where next-hop packet forwarding to a destination may occur over two or more “best paths,” equal-cost multi-path routing (ECMP) may be employed.
In current mechanisms, the selection of a member in an aggregate group, like a LAG or ECMP, is currently done based on hashing or other mechanisms, which take into account only parameters within a switch, packet fields, etc. Since the decision is based solely on local metrics, such as selection may be sub-optimal when considering the downstream flow.
Accordingly, what is needed are systems and methods that assist in making better flow path selections for a networking device.